Siberian Federal University

Using electron scanning microscopy, the composition of pyrochlore grains was studied in the Tomtor ores of the southern and western parts of the Burannyi site, as well as in the siderite underlying sediments of the deposit. It was found that in ore samples from rich areas of the deposit, pyrochlore is represented by several structural types of particles: crystalline, layered and spongy. An analysis of the composition of individual pyrochlore particles showed that the titanium content in them relative to niobium is low. In crystalline particles, the proportion of titanium on average does not exceed 2 %, in layered and spongy particles – less than 10 %. This is significantly lower than 30 % – the concentration indicator established by the technical specifications for pyrochlore concentrate for ferroniobium smelting. Thus, the studies performed show the fundamental possibility of achieving the required quality of a pyrochlore concentrate in terms of the content of undesirable titanium impurities without its preliminary leaching and chemical purification when developing new approaches to the separation of finely dispersed materials